Attention! This is a double update! If you didn't read chapter six, do it now!

When they reach their home, Jongdae is struck with sudden embarrassment. He knows he shouldn't be feeling that way, but it's hard when he compares his apartment to Joonmyun's traditional house.  The building is small, and doesn't look like much from the outside.  There are a few plants soaking up the sun's rays, and laundry lines connect it to the surrounding buildings, peoples' clothes and undergarments flapping in the gentle breeze. 

"Would you like to come in?" Jonddae manages to keep himself from blushing excessively.

"Thanks," Joonmyun replies as he follows him into the apartment.  

Kicking off their shoes and walking into the living room, Jongdae's embarrassment fades considerably.  Their apartment may be small, but it's well kept and exrtremely cozy.  There are crocheted blankets adorning the back of the couch and his father's armchair, all made by his mother.  A mixture of pictures of their family at play and MinDae's drawings line the walls, and the air is warm and smells of vanilla.

When Jongdae looks over towards Joonmyun, he can see that a lot of the tension has left his body, and he seems much more relaxed than Jongdae's ever seen him.

"Do you mind helping MinDae with her homework?" Jongdae asks, figuring Joonmyun might like an excuse to stay a little longer. "I need to go do something."

"Yeah, no problem," Joonmyun agrees, smiling down at MinDae who is tugging on his hand and leading him to the small coffee table by the couch to work.

Smiling at the scene, Jongdae heads into his room to start his own homework.

Forty minutes later, Jongdae is taking a break from his school work. He has the window open, and he's sitting on the ledge, smoking a cigarette and watching the white puffs of nicotine trail out into the night.

"You really should stop smoking, you know."

"Jesus !" Jongdae exclaims, startled.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to sneak up on you."

"It's fine." Jongdae puts a hand on his chest as he tries to calm his rapidly beating heart. "MinDae?"

"She's fast asleep. I guess math equations are too boring for her," he chuckles as he lets himself into the room and sits a little awkwardly on the bed.

"Yeah, I know the feeling. Thanks for helping her out, though, I really appreciate it."

"Thanks for letting me, it was fun."

Jongdae smiles at him, the first sincere smiles he's given since they began interacting with frequency. Tamping out his cigarette on the windowsill, he hops up and stretches his lithe body, his joints popping and muscles straining at the action.

Unbeknownst to Jongdae, Joonmyun averts his eyes, palms suddenly clammy.

"Now, if you don't mind, I need to get started on dinner. My parents should be home within the hour. Care to help?" Jongdae looks back over his shoulder as he's about to exit his room.

"I don't know how to cook."

"Then I'll teach you! Come on!"  Jongdae grabs his wrist and pulls him out of the room and into the kitchen. 

"I can't believe you've never cooked before." Jondae exclaims as he pulls the older boy towards the counter. "Not even ramen?"

"No, we have a maid that cooks and cleans for us." Joonmyun is clearly embarrassed.

"Wow, what a life. I'd love if I didn't always have to be the one cooking." Jongdae says as he glides around the kitchen, pulling ingredients out from everywhere.

"Here, start dicing the onions and the peppers, will you? We're keeping it simple tonight; just Kimchi fried rice. I hope that's okay?"

Joonmyun nods his head, but his focus is on the vegetables in front of him.

Deciding that he'll be okay, Jongdae starts the rice and begins to prep the kimchi and the spam.

"Ow, !"

"What happened?" Jongdae spins around and rushes towards Joonmyun.

"It's fine, I just cut my finger with the knife."

"Come stand by the sink and rinse your finger," Jongdae instructs as he moves to the sink first to wash the kimchi off of his own hands. "Keep running it under the water while I grab the first aid kit."

Less than a minute later and he's back, first aid kit in hand. Turning the faucet off, he gently dries Joonmyun's finger off with a paper towel, applying pressure as well to stop the bleeding.  Once he's sure the blood has stopped, Jongdae opens up a bandaid, puts some Neosporin onto the sanitary gauze pad, and then wraps it gently around his finger.  Satisfied with his work, he looks up and is startled by just how close Joonmyun's face is to his own. 

"There, all done," he clears his throat as he backs away out of the class president's personal space.

"Thanks," Joonmyun mutters as he too, turns away.

The rice cooker starts beeping then, and Jongdae turns away to take care of it.

When he's gotten it set to warm and has begun sauteing the garlic and kimchi, Jongdae is distracted by the sound of chopping.

Turning to the source of the sound, he sees Joonmyun once again attempting to cut the onions and the peppers.  His hand is unsure and the chunks being cut are all different shapes and sizes.

Chuckling to himself, Jongdae approaches and offers his assistance. "Here, like this," his breath tickles Joonmyun's neck as he reaches across his back and wraps his fingers around the hand holding the knife.  Guiding the blade into the proper cutting motion, Jongdae is oblivious to Joonmyun's increasingly reddening face. 

"T-thanks," Joonmyun stammers out as Jongdae pulls away and returns to his cooking.

A few minutes later, the vegetables are chopped, and Jongdae is adding them to the pan when the front door opens.

"Jongdae-yah, we're home!" his mom calls as she and her husband remove their shoes in the foyer.

"In the kitchen!" He calls in response, adding some soy sauce and gochujang to the pan and stirring it around.

"Won't you wake MinDae up?" Joonmyun asks, curious about the yelling.

"She needs to wake up anyway. If she sleeps too long, she won't want to go to bed tonight. Besides, dinner is almost ready."

"Dae," his mom chooses that moment to walk into the kitchen. "Oh, sorry sweetie, I didn't know you had a friend over."

"Mom, this is Joonmyun, he's in some of my classes," Jongdae says, not bothering to look up from his cooking.

"Nice to meet you, Mrs. Kim," Joonmyun bows respectfully.

"Nice to meet you as well, Joonmyun. I take it you're staying for dinner."

"Considering he almost cut his finger off dicing onions, I'm going to say he definitely is," Jongdae sniggers from where he's putting the rice into the pan.

"Oh dear! Did you clean it and put some Neosporin on it?" Mrs. Kim asks as she inspects her son's handiwork.

Rolling his eyes as he turns the heat off, Jongdae replies in the affirmative. "I know how to take care of a little boo boo, mom. I was in a gang. I had plenty of my own to deal with."

"Yes, and now your pretty little face is covered in not so pretty little scars."

"Oh my god, mom! it up, I'm still handsome, as you and I both know."

"Do you see what I have to deal with, Joonmyun? I get nothing but sass from all three of them, but this little monster is the worst."

"Dinner's ready," Jongdae saves him from having to answer. "Mom, go set the table."

"Yes dear, whatever you say, dear."

"Sorry about that."

"Don't be, your mom seems wonderful. Is there anything I can help you with?"

"Nah, just go have a seat at the table, I'll be right out."

Nothing particularly special happened at dinner that night. There were questions of how the two boys knew each other, and a lot of questions from his parents about Joonmyun's interests and school.  "See Jongdae, you should be getting grades like Joonmyun. I was really hoping they'd get better after you dropped the gang thing."  Comfortable conversation was had throughout the evening, and once they were all done eating, Mrs. Kim suggested that Jongdae walk Joonmyun back home.

"It's okay, Mrs. Kim, I can go myself, it's not far."

"Nonsense, the streets are dangerous, especially now that it's dark out. I'd feel much better knowing that Jongdae was with you."

"What, so it's okay if I walk back home alone?" Jongdae teases his mother.

"Please, all of the ruffians on this side of Seoul know to stay the hell away from you, don't give me that." She smiles brightly and ruffles his hair. "Now shoo! I'm sure Joonmyun's mother wants him home."

With that farewell, the two boys put their shoes back on and begin the easy walk to Joonmyun's house.  The night air is cool against their skin, and they find themselves in a companionable silence. 

Soon enough, they've reached Joonmyun's house. "Thanks for having me over, I had a nice time." Joonmyun says, fingers running through his hair and body language making him seem small.

"I'm glad you could come! MinDae really likes you. I'm sorry you hurt your finger, but thanks for helping me out with dinner."

"It was a new experience, to say the least," Joonmyun smiles sheepishly.

"If you ever want to repeat it, let me know."

"Thanks."

"Goodnight, Joonmyun." Jongdae waves and begins to walk off, back towards his own home where the rest of his homework is waiting for him.

"You too," Joonmyun steps into his own house.

As he shuts the front door behind him, he is confronted by the sight of his livid mother.

"Have you been with him this entire time!?" She's furious. "I have not brought you up in such a nice neighborhood so that you can make friends with good for nothings like him! If I ever see you with him again, I will ground you for all eternity! Now get to your room and do your damn homework!"

"Yes ommani," Joonmyun complies, head hanging low and feet scuffing the floor as he shuffles to his study den to do as his mother has told him.

A/N:

Wow, I decided to take an early Thanksgiving break and skip some classes and ended up writing two chapters. I almost made this one and the last one be just one chapter, but I decided to break it into two parts to keep some semblance of continuity with the way I've been updating throughout this whole story. I hope they please you, there's a lot of Suchen interaction here. Some fluff, and some angst.

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